An RSU21 symposium was held on August 26th. I attended the morning portion as a Herd journalist and interviewed multiple teachers and the superintendent.

Upon arrival, community members lined up along the entrance of KHS with signs supporting staff. Administrators and school board members greeted staff with pom poms and a Pep Rally. 

The first keynote speaker was Dr. Tracy Benson. He focused on implicit bias and intersectionality—tying topics into extended personal stories. Next, Superintendent Dr. Terri Cooper said she was excited to be at the symposium. Throughout her presentation, she discussed the district’s action plan, and the slogan: “StandUp, LiftUp! Rising Together in Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity.” The second keynote speaker was Steve Pemberton, who told of personal struggles as a child in the foster care system, and his presentation focused on inspiring teachers to show how impactful they can be, like how his teachers were to him. School Board President Lesley Stoeffler also spoke.

During my interview with Dr. Cooper, she said the intention of the symposium is to provide a professional conference where staff can come together. The goal is to inspire, and get staff ready for the year so they can give all they can to their students. She said speakers are selected collaboratively with Cabinet Staff and ideas are then presented to building level principals for collaboration.

When questioned about staff and community concerns regarding the timing of the symposium, Dr. Cooper said one work-around was opening buildings August 19. She acknowledged teachers were not paid prior to 8/26, but did say they would have a portion of the day 8/27 to prepare (8/28-8/30 are unpaid). She recognized that sometimes when staff are in symposium sessions, they are thinking about preparing for classes, and she understands. 

Teachers shared that the morning presentations were good. They also appreciated reconnecting with staff again and looked forward to the school year. However, they did agree that the timing of the symposium was challenging given limited paid preparation time. One stated they have spent more than 40 hours unpaid to prepare for students, and will likely again start classes without seeing student 504 plans or IEPs due to lack of preparation time available with colleagues. 

One teacher shared, “I think we are all professionals who really do want to be the best that we can be. We love learning. It just seems like it would have been a really good use of our time to not do the symposium this year because we don’t have a contract and because we have asked for it to not take up so much time at this time in the year. So, as much as we keep hearing the message that we are valued, it does seem like we are not listened to. I would say I really am excited for the school year. I have met with my team unpaid, but it was really nice to just be with them and start talking about the year, so I am excited for the year.”

This is the fourth year that RSU21 has opened the year with a symposium. Some other districts also participate in this tradition; however, they typically format the school year by adding 4-5 paid days alongside a symposium and teachers have ample time to plan for students. One teacher said that during this time of year, ‘time is of the essence,’ and building/grade level time is essential. Another teacher said a short kick-off was a good idea, but it would be more helpful if PD (professional development) needs were differentiated (for example–  the needs of a veteran higher level math teacher versus a new elementary level LA teacher), and if teachers were more involved in the planning of the symposium. They said parts of the symposium felt more like PR, than PD.

The morning of the symposium has benefits like bringing staff together and discussing valuable topics. However, the value for many teachers does not outweigh the importance of planning for students. It makes sense in the midst of staff shortages to give people paid time to do their jobs. If a kickoff with all staff is considered essential, it appears it would be more useful to teachers if it was shorter and followed by more time to work with teams and prepare for students on day one.